It's been almost three weeks since my last post. Lots going on, just wasn't "feeling it". And by "it" I mean "ke writing". And by "feeling" I mean "feeling li". Let's boil it down to the major days, shall we?
Tuesday, June 16:
Was quite a day. It began with me preparing a pre-screen for a Lifetime show called "Mistresses". I read the pilot script, and it's a very female show, like "Sex And The City", but I've never seen "Sex And The City", so I don't know if I can make the comparison. OK, maybe I've seen an episode or two, but it doesn't count because I watched them against my will.
This pre-screen was for a pair of casting directors that haven't seen me yet, so I wanted to make a good first impression. I prepared the scene as best I could in the limited time I had, bought some new clothes (the scene took place after a funeral) and cabbed there to be on time. Once I arrived, I found-out they were running an hour behind, which was no good, because I had a call back for DRAGONSTEEL at 4:15, while my pre-screen was at 2:30.
I called my agent to tell him, and he said he'd call me back. Upon calling back:
"OK, I told them the situation, and they're going to try to get you in first for the next session. If it ends-up taking too long, just use your judgment and leave if you have to."
Given the stress this pre-screen caused initially, I did not want to just walk away from it. 3:30 would be late, but I could book-it in a cab for my call back and still make it. Heck, the call backs were probably running late anyway (most director/producer sessions do). The Casting Assistant told me that my agent had called them, and that I would be going first, just like he said I would. Well, the next session didn't start for about 20 minutes after that, but I was still able to go into the room and give a good audi- I mean, pre-screen. I changed out of the suit and into my goblin garb, went looking for a bank to take out some money, grabbed a cab, got extremely frustrated with traffic and construction, but made it on time.
In the waiting room I saw a varying degree of hulking individuals, one of whom was one half of the twins I saw for the audition, with his boots, cut-off sleeves and 2x4 in tow. I can't help but thinking that it's gotta be awkward for them, these call backs. How does the other feel about his brother's call back? Whatever, apparently they "book lots", so I guess they're over any sort of sibling jealousy.
Upon entering the audition room, I had to immediately bolt after being introduced to the director and producers (always amazes me how many can fit in such a small room; it's like a clown car, but they're not clowns, they're directors and producers, and it's not a car, it's a room). I had to grab my bag, which I was using as a prop. I did they audish, sticking to the Casting Director's notes (this guys gives a lot of them) and felt pretty good that I pulled-off a hectic day; but they day wudn't over yet.
I had to take another cab (three all day) downtown to meet-up with my good buddy Sara to work on out scenes for that night's class. This is what I was dreading all day, but the class went well, my scene didn't get ripped-apart too badly, and I had a great talk with my acting teacher afterwards. I told him about everything I was doing, and he came to one conclusion: I'm an actor, in the city. I'm doing it.
Wednesday, June 17:
I found out I was "too good-looking, too all-American" for "Mistresses" and "too small for what we all want" for DRAGONSTEEL. Actor in the city.
Thursday, June 19:
I had my friend Greg King visit. He's a been a buddy of mine since High School, and we stay in touch by "drafting" real men with a computer program, and judge ourselves based on their weekly performances in the NFL. He was in town for a UBC conference, but he arrived early to stay in the luxurious "Chateau Will's Room" which is famous for it's plush, carpeted floor. Greg's came prepared, though. Dude lived in Inuvik last summer (check out blog, the "Summer Above 66" that I have linked to the right to read more about it!) so he came with backpacks, and a therma-rest. Dude knew what he was doing.
Friday, June 20:
I showed Greg around town, kind of randomly pointing to things, and not really knowing what to show him. He was going to Victoria the next day, to check-out the town, and to see the house he grew-up in. I had Saturday off, so I figured I'd go too.
Saturday, June 21:
Taking public transit, it's actually pretty cheap to visit Victoria from Vancouver. The ferry sails out of Tsawwassen, which is a forty minute bus ride, costing $2.50. The ferry itself is only $5 for foot passengers, and when you get to Vancouver Island, you have to take another bus from the ferry terminal to Victoria, which is another $2.25. All said, about 4 and a half hours and $9.75 one-way on a weekend.
Victoria was a lovely little town, and we spent a good amount of the day in Esquimalt, seeing the home Greg grew-up in on a military base. I'm fortunate that the home I grew-up in is still occupied by my family, but it was cool being there with Greg remembering his childhood. We went walking around Victoria some more, walked along a beach, visited Greg's great uncle (who is a spry 89 year old) ate breakfast at Smitty's (!) at 6pm, then had to hop the bus, ferry and bus to get home on time for me to work the next day. It was a great day, and it felt good to get out of Vancouver. It was my one day vacay.
Wednesday, June 25:
I had a conversation with my agent when I visited his office to pick-up some resumes. I picked-up another check for "I Love You Beth Cooper", which was sweet. He said it's tough to act and balance a full-time job, and that it comes down to money: it's good to have it. No kidding. He said another actor on his roster reads for Brooksbank, and every now and again, she'd have small parts offered to her. Here's hoping I get so lucky.
Thursday, June 26:
I had an audition for another Casting Director that hasn't seen me yet. This project was a horror movie called "Messages Deleted", and the role was a 30-year-old Real Estate agent. Another stretch for me, but hey, I'm used to it. Taking a lesson from my acting class, I worked the crap out of the scene (six very wordy pages) and the end result being the Casting Director telling me I was "very grounded" and that I looked like Jason Bateman, which I'll take as a compliment. "Arrested Development" rules.
Friday, June 27:
I received a phone call at 7:30 from the Casting Assistant at Brooksbank who needed me to read for them that morning. I agreed, and enjoyed reading for another Kyle XY session. I had a chat with one of the actors who auditioned on the way home on the bus/Seabus. I've met some actors at work, and I always find it interesting to talk to the people who have been doing it in town for longer than I have. Actors have lots to talk about, and I always find it fascinating to hear their tales and share mine. We're just a great, big acting family.
Monday, June 30:
After waking up too late, feeling ill effects of movie theatre snacks from the night before, Will sits on his bed in his underwear, sweating on a hot Vancouver day after a hot Vancouver weekend working under the hot heat lamps at Vancouver's hottest restaurant.
Monday, June 30, 2008
Tuesday, June 10, 2008
Business Time
I don't know if I should have auditioned for the Intern on Kyle XY before or after the casting session. I chose to do it before, which the Casting Director preferred, and that can't be a bad thing. Perhaps I would have had an edge after watching what the other guys did in the room, but I'll never know.
I was called back for a DRAGONSTEEL audition on Monday. I went in for a pre-screen for the warrior character and ended-up with an audition for another character:
A magical goblin that can turn invisible.
My agent told me to wear something to make me look taller. I had no idea what the heck that meant, and my acting coach agreed that this can be a note best ignored. Big guys never have to act like they're big guys. My acting coach told me to hit the gym before the audition to feel more connected to my body, and to relax all my muscles in the waiting room before the audition.
So, just what manner of goblins would I come across in this waiting room? How about twins with cut-off sleeves and boots with 4-inch lifts, curling and pressing a 20-lb. barbell? Looks like these guys took the tallness suggestion more seriously. Another actor asked them about their unique footwear and one of them told her,
"We got them because we need them for bigger roles. Ironically, we got them two-for-one."
The Casting Director came out and gave us an important note:
"No goblin voices guys. They're just a race of bigger people."
Notes like that makes me wonder how many people did that before the CD realized he needed to let the actors know not to do it. I was kind of banking on the fact that a bunch of actors would do it, giving me better a better chance. The twins told me they heard someone go in asking to read "all the lines." Like, their lines and the other character's lines. This is why the CDs hire a reader, or in this case, the CD himself was the reader.
I got in the room, and immediately my blocking was thrown-off by the CDs insistence on "tug-of-war"-ing him off the top of the scene. It fit the script (the story had the goblin arguing with a little girl over a giant chunk of DRAGONSTEEL) but I didn't expect to wrest with the CD in the room.
"OK, so off the top here, if you want to just, take my hand ... "
So I do,
"But don't crush it."
Looks like I underestimated my goblin strength. So we switched-up out grip to more of a "thumb war" style, which immediately made me self-conscious of the length of my fingernails. The camera-man calls rolling, and we go at it. Overall, it went well, and of course, I'll be the last to know how it went.
Either way, I'll be heading to that Casting Office again on Friday for a Scooby-Doo call back. We meet again, "Beefy Jock".
Talking to my agent afterwards, he told me once I get more confidence, I won't need coaches. I'm not ditching them any time soon. He said once I get more experience I could be booking 1 for 3 like his daughter's older clients do.
He sent us an e-mail letting his clients know he'll be going on vacation at the end of the month and, like every conversation I have with him, he just couldn't help but throw-in some lessons. First, empathizing with business being down, then wishing us all the best in our auditions, then telling us that even school and training, we're far from knowing it all. How inspiring.
The first VFS almuni class went well. I heard through the grapevine that the teacher was being a bit grumpier lately, and thus, I expected the worst. I feel I got by relatively unscathed, and the teacher's words, even though I've heard most of them before, was inspiring. Bottom line: I have to work harder, because like my teacher said, auditions are good, but jobs are better. I agree.
Because my roommate asked me to, I checked my actors gig book to see just how many pre-screens/auditions/call backs I've had since I've signed with my agent. I've discovered I'm about 1 for 30. Upon telling this to the head of the VFS acting department, he informed me that he's about 1 for 503. Great, only 473 to go.
After class, the teacher asked me and friend of mine what we've been up to. I told him I went out for DRAGONSTEEL twice, once for the warrior, and once for the goblin.
"Oh yeah? I coached the twins for that one. Those guys book a lot."
I was called back for a DRAGONSTEEL audition on Monday. I went in for a pre-screen for the warrior character and ended-up with an audition for another character:
A magical goblin that can turn invisible.
My agent told me to wear something to make me look taller. I had no idea what the heck that meant, and my acting coach agreed that this can be a note best ignored. Big guys never have to act like they're big guys. My acting coach told me to hit the gym before the audition to feel more connected to my body, and to relax all my muscles in the waiting room before the audition.
So, just what manner of goblins would I come across in this waiting room? How about twins with cut-off sleeves and boots with 4-inch lifts, curling and pressing a 20-lb. barbell? Looks like these guys took the tallness suggestion more seriously. Another actor asked them about their unique footwear and one of them told her,
"We got them because we need them for bigger roles. Ironically, we got them two-for-one."
The Casting Director came out and gave us an important note:
"No goblin voices guys. They're just a race of bigger people."
Notes like that makes me wonder how many people did that before the CD realized he needed to let the actors know not to do it. I was kind of banking on the fact that a bunch of actors would do it, giving me better a better chance. The twins told me they heard someone go in asking to read "all the lines." Like, their lines and the other character's lines. This is why the CDs hire a reader, or in this case, the CD himself was the reader.
I got in the room, and immediately my blocking was thrown-off by the CDs insistence on "tug-of-war"-ing him off the top of the scene. It fit the script (the story had the goblin arguing with a little girl over a giant chunk of DRAGONSTEEL) but I didn't expect to wrest with the CD in the room.
"OK, so off the top here, if you want to just, take my hand ... "
So I do,
"But don't crush it."
Looks like I underestimated my goblin strength. So we switched-up out grip to more of a "thumb war" style, which immediately made me self-conscious of the length of my fingernails. The camera-man calls rolling, and we go at it. Overall, it went well, and of course, I'll be the last to know how it went.
Either way, I'll be heading to that Casting Office again on Friday for a Scooby-Doo call back. We meet again, "Beefy Jock".
Talking to my agent afterwards, he told me once I get more confidence, I won't need coaches. I'm not ditching them any time soon. He said once I get more experience I could be booking 1 for 3 like his daughter's older clients do.
He sent us an e-mail letting his clients know he'll be going on vacation at the end of the month and, like every conversation I have with him, he just couldn't help but throw-in some lessons. First, empathizing with business being down, then wishing us all the best in our auditions, then telling us that even school and training, we're far from knowing it all. How inspiring.
The first VFS almuni class went well. I heard through the grapevine that the teacher was being a bit grumpier lately, and thus, I expected the worst. I feel I got by relatively unscathed, and the teacher's words, even though I've heard most of them before, was inspiring. Bottom line: I have to work harder, because like my teacher said, auditions are good, but jobs are better. I agree.
Because my roommate asked me to, I checked my actors gig book to see just how many pre-screens/auditions/call backs I've had since I've signed with my agent. I've discovered I'm about 1 for 30. Upon telling this to the head of the VFS acting department, he informed me that he's about 1 for 503. Great, only 473 to go.
After class, the teacher asked me and friend of mine what we've been up to. I told him I went out for DRAGONSTEEL twice, once for the warrior, and once for the goblin.
"Oh yeah? I coached the twins for that one. Those guys book a lot."
Thursday, June 05, 2008
Cell Phone High
I did the smart thing today and got-up before my cell phone alarm went-off. I checked the address and bus schedule for where I needed to go, and ended-up grabbing an early bus anyway. I arrived at about 11:35 for a noon-ish call time, so, with no stores around that interested me, and what with the rain and all, I decided to just sit and wait on the bus stop bench. While I waited, I gave the Casting Assistant at Brooksbank a call to see if they still needed me to read Friday morning (they just asked me to be on stand-by.) She didn't answer, so I left a message.
By 11:45, I figure I should give the director a call like he instructed me. I figure 15 minutes early is better than 25 minutes early. Turns out I had perfect timing, as I called just after the first actor was finished. This other actor also shares an agent with me, and we had a lovely conversation a week or so ago while getting off the bus to go to Brooksbank to audition for separate projects.
The "studio" was little more than a small room in a dilapidated house. The microphone was simply a small clip-on attached to a battery, usually reserved for recording audio when a boom mike isn't possible. I clipped-on, sat down and got to 'er. The director sent the script to me yesterday, and I thought it was hilarious. Just a little side-project they made over the Christmas break, but it was fun to record my two lines, and be a part of it. And again, it was really cool just to be asked. The whole thing took about five minutes, which is one reason I love voice-over: it's a quick job, no need to set-up lights and cameras, it's just "action". The guys asked if I've done other voice-overs, and I informed them that the only two auditions I've had have been commercials, one of them being for roasted almonds. They agreed with me that roasted almonds can be a hard sell.
When I left, I turned-on my cell phone and immediately received a call from the Brooksbank Casting Assistant. She said she did need me for Friday morning, but they also may need me for the whole day. I told them it wouldn't be a problem, I'm free all day. Immediately after that, I got this:
"Audition for you for tomorrow at 2:20."
Aw, crap. I didn't expect that at all.
"I just said I'd read for (Brooksbank) tomorrow, possibly all-day."
"Ah, OK, well ... call and ask if they can work-around this audition."
"Will do."
I called the Casting Assistant while on the bus (which I hate doing. I don't talk on my cell phone on the bus if I can avoid it. The enemy has many spies, birds and beasts ... ) and told her of the predicament. She said she'd get back to me.
I had to stop at my agent's office to pick-up my new resumes, and he re-iterated that when I commit to reading, I really can't break it. I agreed that my relationship with these Casting Directors isn't worth an audition for a fairly small part, and I found I was reading literally two seconds before he called me. The only casting session for this project is on Friday, since it's a producer/director session. He said he'd try to get me one later in the day.
On the bus to downtown, the Casting Assistant calls, saying the sessions will end at around 2, but to call the Casting Director at the office to get a more detailed schedge.
Off the bus, on my way to HMV to return a DVD, and he calls saying I can tape it, but it'd have to be today. Fat chance I'd be able to book something with such short notice, and I really didn't feel like spending the money to tape for this.
I called the Casting Director at her ofice when I got home, and she gave me the schedule, saying the sessions should end around 1:30-2-ish. I told my agent this, and he said he was waiting to hear from the Casting Assistant on the other project (who coincidentally used to work for Brooksbank).
I had my cell phone in my pocket during my work-out, which I don't usually do, but this was serious. It was seriously serious. My agent called to tell me he was still waiting, but he received good feedback on me from his tennis rival and director of Battlestar Gallactica. He said they decided to cast the part older, but I did a good job. This is good news because, even though BSG is going off the air, the producers have about three or four pilots on their way, so it's good to get in good with these people.
Later at the gym, my agent called to tell me to forget about this other audition, to just worry about reading.
"(Casting Assistant for the other project) said not to piss-off (Casting Directors at Brooksbank)," which I agreed with wholeheartedly. These are the Casting Directors with which I have the best relationship, and I aim to keep it that way. I'd prefer to keep auditioning, and being asked to read, and coming "highly recommended" (said the director for the voice-over gig that morning).
At home after the gym my agent tells me that there's a part in Kyle XY they want me to audition for on Friday, which I'll just do after/between sessions. This is for a medical intern, so I'll have to find a spot to buy Grey's Anatomy scrubs. I think the CTV store on Burrard may have some.
"They'll find a good reader for you," he joked.
Days like this remind me why my cell phone bill is so high.
By 11:45, I figure I should give the director a call like he instructed me. I figure 15 minutes early is better than 25 minutes early. Turns out I had perfect timing, as I called just after the first actor was finished. This other actor also shares an agent with me, and we had a lovely conversation a week or so ago while getting off the bus to go to Brooksbank to audition for separate projects.
The "studio" was little more than a small room in a dilapidated house. The microphone was simply a small clip-on attached to a battery, usually reserved for recording audio when a boom mike isn't possible. I clipped-on, sat down and got to 'er. The director sent the script to me yesterday, and I thought it was hilarious. Just a little side-project they made over the Christmas break, but it was fun to record my two lines, and be a part of it. And again, it was really cool just to be asked. The whole thing took about five minutes, which is one reason I love voice-over: it's a quick job, no need to set-up lights and cameras, it's just "action". The guys asked if I've done other voice-overs, and I informed them that the only two auditions I've had have been commercials, one of them being for roasted almonds. They agreed with me that roasted almonds can be a hard sell.
When I left, I turned-on my cell phone and immediately received a call from the Brooksbank Casting Assistant. She said she did need me for Friday morning, but they also may need me for the whole day. I told them it wouldn't be a problem, I'm free all day. Immediately after that, I got this:
"Audition for you for tomorrow at 2:20."
Aw, crap. I didn't expect that at all.
"I just said I'd read for (Brooksbank) tomorrow, possibly all-day."
"Ah, OK, well ... call and ask if they can work-around this audition."
"Will do."
I called the Casting Assistant while on the bus (which I hate doing. I don't talk on my cell phone on the bus if I can avoid it. The enemy has many spies, birds and beasts ... ) and told her of the predicament. She said she'd get back to me.
I had to stop at my agent's office to pick-up my new resumes, and he re-iterated that when I commit to reading, I really can't break it. I agreed that my relationship with these Casting Directors isn't worth an audition for a fairly small part, and I found I was reading literally two seconds before he called me. The only casting session for this project is on Friday, since it's a producer/director session. He said he'd try to get me one later in the day.
On the bus to downtown, the Casting Assistant calls, saying the sessions will end at around 2, but to call the Casting Director at the office to get a more detailed schedge.
Off the bus, on my way to HMV to return a DVD, and he calls saying I can tape it, but it'd have to be today. Fat chance I'd be able to book something with such short notice, and I really didn't feel like spending the money to tape for this.
I called the Casting Director at her ofice when I got home, and she gave me the schedule, saying the sessions should end around 1:30-2-ish. I told my agent this, and he said he was waiting to hear from the Casting Assistant on the other project (who coincidentally used to work for Brooksbank).
I had my cell phone in my pocket during my work-out, which I don't usually do, but this was serious. It was seriously serious. My agent called to tell me he was still waiting, but he received good feedback on me from his tennis rival and director of Battlestar Gallactica. He said they decided to cast the part older, but I did a good job. This is good news because, even though BSG is going off the air, the producers have about three or four pilots on their way, so it's good to get in good with these people.
Later at the gym, my agent called to tell me to forget about this other audition, to just worry about reading.
"(Casting Assistant for the other project) said not to piss-off (Casting Directors at Brooksbank)," which I agreed with wholeheartedly. These are the Casting Directors with which I have the best relationship, and I aim to keep it that way. I'd prefer to keep auditioning, and being asked to read, and coming "highly recommended" (said the director for the voice-over gig that morning).
At home after the gym my agent tells me that there's a part in Kyle XY they want me to audition for on Friday, which I'll just do after/between sessions. This is for a medical intern, so I'll have to find a spot to buy Grey's Anatomy scrubs. I think the CTV store on Burrard may have some.
"They'll find a good reader for you," he joked.
Days like this remind me why my cell phone bill is so high.
"Where Do You Wait?"
While reading for the Casting Directors on Monday night, I realized I've worked with just about every generation of person possible in one casting session: old men, middle-aged women, teenagers, tweenagers, old women, and my-aged guys and dolls. Another great reading experience, in which I learned so much. They have me on stand-by to read Friday morning, and with nothing else to do, I told them I'd be glad to do it.
I showed-up on time for my shoot Tuesday morning; my coaching Wednesday morning, less so.
The shoot was a lot of fun, and it was great to re-unite with the ol' VFS crew. It was just nice to be acting in something again. I played a "rocker", complete with some lovely black eye shadow that is seemingly permanent. I scrub my eyes out, and it still seems to be there. I don't mind it so much. Makes my eyes all purdy-lookin'. If it wasn't so freaky to apply, I'd wear it everyday. For real.
I was called Monday for a pre-screen (WHY can't they just call it an audition ... why?) on Wednesday at the Broadway Casting Office. It was for a Sci-Fi Channel Mini-Series called DRAGONSTEEL. Now, it is not mandatory to capitalize "DRAGONSTEEL", but I feel that a combination of those two words demands the caps lock button to be utilized. I was thinking of bolding it ... we'll wait and see if I book or not.
DRAGONSTEEL is right up my geek alley, with dragons, swords, elves, warriors, goblins, and the titular DRAGONSTEEL, which is an object that (and I swear I'm not making this up) does everything. It just does everything. Don't ask how. Luckily with this one they sent the full script. All 182 pages of it. I'll admit, I wasn't so high on the project after reading the synopsis and the character's sides, but I really dug the script. Admittedly, it's not treading terribly original ground, but it hits all the right marks for the genre. A fine piece of escapism. The character I was pre-screening for is the main warrior, an unlikely anti-hero with a tortured past. Awesome.
Onto the coaching this morning, I don't know why I haven't fully learned to double-check my cell phone alarm for "am"s and "pm"s, or learned to just trust my biological clock. I arrived a half-hour late, but the coaching went well. After the coaching I headed for the gym where I received a surprising phone call.
A chap who received my phone number from a Casting Director wanted me to record a voice-over for a short film he made over the Christmas break. Tomorrow at noon I record my blurb. Always nice to be asked.
After the gym, I had my aud-- I mean, pre-screen. In my coaching, we had the idea for the first scene to polish one of my shoes: this gives the body something to do, the actor something to concentrate on besides giving lines. An effective technique, I almost think of it as cheating, but this isn't bowling; this is acting, there are no rules. Since I had to work right after the pre-screen, I figured to just act in my work dress code. Black shirt, black pants works well enough for a tortured warrior. Plus, my chain-mail pants don't fit like they used to.
Now, I thought my costume choice was flawless, but there's something about Vancouver, with it's 20,000 restaurants that makes a server/expediter dress code easy to identify. If polishing one shoe in front of the Casting Director didn't feel weird enough, he just had to make a comment on my clothes.
"Where do you wait?"
"Nowhere, if I book this role," is what I didn't say, but may have been a clever response. He was just concerned that I only had one shined shoe to wear to work, and so was I.
Speaking of, the last of the dry-runs took place Wednesday. It's been a sweet week of free food, and no customers. The place opens this Friday, and that's where it gets nuts. I'm working six days the first full week we're open, with only Tuesday off for my Scene Study Class. I just hope the hourly rate is nice, although working six days'll pay nicely, just so long as I don't go out for work every night like I did Sunday night.
Well, there was a reason I wanted to do this while I'm young.
I showed-up on time for my shoot Tuesday morning; my coaching Wednesday morning, less so.
The shoot was a lot of fun, and it was great to re-unite with the ol' VFS crew. It was just nice to be acting in something again. I played a "rocker", complete with some lovely black eye shadow that is seemingly permanent. I scrub my eyes out, and it still seems to be there. I don't mind it so much. Makes my eyes all purdy-lookin'. If it wasn't so freaky to apply, I'd wear it everyday. For real.
I was called Monday for a pre-screen (WHY can't they just call it an audition ... why?) on Wednesday at the Broadway Casting Office. It was for a Sci-Fi Channel Mini-Series called DRAGONSTEEL. Now, it is not mandatory to capitalize "DRAGONSTEEL", but I feel that a combination of those two words demands the caps lock button to be utilized. I was thinking of bolding it ... we'll wait and see if I book or not.
DRAGONSTEEL is right up my geek alley, with dragons, swords, elves, warriors, goblins, and the titular DRAGONSTEEL, which is an object that (and I swear I'm not making this up) does everything. It just does everything. Don't ask how. Luckily with this one they sent the full script. All 182 pages of it. I'll admit, I wasn't so high on the project after reading the synopsis and the character's sides, but I really dug the script. Admittedly, it's not treading terribly original ground, but it hits all the right marks for the genre. A fine piece of escapism. The character I was pre-screening for is the main warrior, an unlikely anti-hero with a tortured past. Awesome.
Onto the coaching this morning, I don't know why I haven't fully learned to double-check my cell phone alarm for "am"s and "pm"s, or learned to just trust my biological clock. I arrived a half-hour late, but the coaching went well. After the coaching I headed for the gym where I received a surprising phone call.
A chap who received my phone number from a Casting Director wanted me to record a voice-over for a short film he made over the Christmas break. Tomorrow at noon I record my blurb. Always nice to be asked.
After the gym, I had my aud-- I mean, pre-screen. In my coaching, we had the idea for the first scene to polish one of my shoes: this gives the body something to do, the actor something to concentrate on besides giving lines. An effective technique, I almost think of it as cheating, but this isn't bowling; this is acting, there are no rules. Since I had to work right after the pre-screen, I figured to just act in my work dress code. Black shirt, black pants works well enough for a tortured warrior. Plus, my chain-mail pants don't fit like they used to.
Now, I thought my costume choice was flawless, but there's something about Vancouver, with it's 20,000 restaurants that makes a server/expediter dress code easy to identify. If polishing one shoe in front of the Casting Director didn't feel weird enough, he just had to make a comment on my clothes.
"Where do you wait?"
"Nowhere, if I book this role," is what I didn't say, but may have been a clever response. He was just concerned that I only had one shined shoe to wear to work, and so was I.
Speaking of, the last of the dry-runs took place Wednesday. It's been a sweet week of free food, and no customers. The place opens this Friday, and that's where it gets nuts. I'm working six days the first full week we're open, with only Tuesday off for my Scene Study Class. I just hope the hourly rate is nice, although working six days'll pay nicely, just so long as I don't go out for work every night like I did Sunday night.
Well, there was a reason I wanted to do this while I'm young.
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